Nelly Korda grabs LPGA lead as Lydia Ko falters, Sorenstam struggles

MIAMI: Nelly Korda grabbed a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Gainbridge LPGA on Saturday, firing five birdies in a four-under 68 at Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida.

Korda's second straight 68 gave her a 13-under-par total of 203, one shot clear of Patty Tavatanakit, who stormed home with three straight birdies in a six-under 66.

World number one Ko Jin-young of South Korea also carded a 66 to head a group sharing third on 206, alongside American Angel Yin (65) and New Zealand's overnight leader Lydia Ko, who posted an even par 72.

Korda, ranked fourth in the world, started the day one behind Kiwi Ko and after six straight pars picked up birdies at the seventh, ninth and 12th.

She bounced back from her lone bogey of the day at 13 with back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th.

Thailand's Patty was two-under for the round through nine holes but made the most of the scoring opportunities offered on the back nine with birdies at 14, 16, 17 and 18.

Top-ranked Ko also took advantage of the back nine, five of her seven birdies coming in a six-hole span from the 11th through the 16th.

Yin was buoyed by an eagle two at the 14th to go along with five back-nine birdies.

But Lydia Ko, the former world number one chasing her first LPGA title since 2018, couldn't take advantage of the back-nine scoring chances.

She had four birdies overall, two on the back nine, but also a double-bogey six at the 12th and a bogey at the last.

LPGA great Annika Sorenstam, who parred her final hole on Friday to make the cut in her first tour start since 2008, seemed to run out of steam as she posted a seven-over 79.

That put the 50-year-old Swede -- who won 10 major titles in her 15-year career -- last among the 74 players who made the cut.

"I just put myself in really difficult positions and it's hard to score, so it gets tiring," said Sorenstam, who is playing the event as a tuneup for the US Senior Women's Open.

"You get tired when you have to really just fight for pars. Yeah, I'm tired now, but that's just kind of part of the deal. That's why I'm here getting back into it and trying to score and do the best I can."